Chapter 141: Setting Sail Again
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Capital Star rarely saw anything but clear skies and pleasant weather. Storms were uncommon—thunderstorms even more so. But today, of all days, the climate control center’s smart system had scheduled a torrential downpour.
Today was the day Marshal Heinrich Chu was set to depart and rendezvous with the Abyss Fleet, heading together toward the front lines in the Dionysus Sector.
Several sleek, black starships were docked at Capital Star’s military port, each emblazoned with the symbol of a shield and arrow. Rain poured in sheets, steaming off the engines as they came to life.
Other senior officers from the Abyss Fleet, who had also been resting on Capital Star, would be departing alongside Heinrich. The Emperor himself had come to see them off. Due to the heavy rain, the originally planned outdoor farewell speech was canceled. The officers would now board their ships at the scheduled time, following protocol.
Still, to show his respect and well wishes, the Emperor—dressed in full regalia—walked over to Heinrich alone, holding a glass of wine. “Your Majesty,” Heinrich greeted him.
He had been speaking with Lin Xu just moments before, Yuanxiao cradled in his arms. Now, as the Emperor stepped in front of him, Heinrich had to shift Yuanxiao into one arm to salute with the other.
Alfred’s gaze drifted to Yuanxiao. The little dragon gave a full-body shiver, flinching and turning their face into Heinrich’s chest, hiding among the rows of shining military decorations and refusing to look at the unfamiliar man.
Heinrich had chosen a newly tailored formal uniform for the occasion, pinning on every one of his medals with care upon learning that the Emperor would attend the departure ceremony.
The Emperor was likewise dressed in the most luxurious ceremonial attire. The two of them standing side by side exuded such grandeur, dignity, and authority that the sound of rain against the windows seemed to soften in reverence.
By comparison, Lin Xu looked wildly out of place—like someone who had stumbled into a banquet thrown by the elite. He had rushed to get here. In his haste, he’d thrown on a jacket over his T-shirt and arrived with water stains still visible around the hem of his pants from dashing through a puddle.
It shouldn’t have been such an elaborate send-off for a routine deployment, yet somehow both the Emperor and the Marshal, upon learning of each other’s attendance, had coincidentally chosen their most extravagant attire. Alfred raised his wine glass toward Heinrich. A nearby attendant, holding a tray of champagne, stepped forward at just the right moment.
“Marshal Chu,” the Emperor said, “your journey is long and dangerous. Allow me to offer this humble drink in advance, to wish you a triumphant return.”
Heinrich stood perfectly straight, making no move to accept the champagne. He replied, “I appreciate Your Majesty’s kind intentions, but I must ask your forgiveness. Duty does not permit me to drink.”
Alfred seemed mildly disappointed but didn’t press the issue. After a brief pause, he turned his gaze to Lin Xu.
“Then perhaps Dr. Lin could drink on the Marshal’s behalf. And while I’m at it… allow me to congratulate you both on your recent marriage.”
Lin Xu’s brows twitched. His eyes flicked over the Emperor’s seemingly sincere smile. As he lifted his hand, the attendant stepped forward and placed the glass into it. Lin Xu downed the entire glass in one go. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor’s smile deepened. “Then I’ll leave you two to say your goodbyes.”
He nodded once, turned away, and melted smoothly back into the crowd of officers. With a fresh drink in hand and his genial mask firmly in place, he exchanged pleasantries as if nothing had happened. Heinrich noticed that Lin Xu’s gaze lingered on Alfred’s retreating figure for several seconds.
“What’s wrong?” Heinrich asked.
“The Emperor… was he always like this?”
Lin Xu had only met the Imperial Emperor once before in person. All other impressions came from news broadcasts. Father and son—Emperor and Crown Prince—had always seemed remarkably alike: approachable, mild-mannered, with kind eyes. The Emperor simply had more age etched into his features.
But just now, even though he had spoken only polite, surface-level words, Lin Xu had felt a strange, subtle aggression simmering beneath them. Yet Heinrich was the Imperial Marshal, heading to another star system to suppress a rebellion—he posed no threat to the Emperor. What, then, was Alfred trying to challenge?
“What do you think of him?” Heinrich didn’t answer directly but tossed the question back to Lin Xu instead. Seeing the frown on Lin Xu’s face as he stared after the Emperor, Heinrich finally exhaled.
“In my impression, he used to be… friendlier.” At the very least, he wouldn’t have insisted someone drink on another’s behalf.
Heinrich replied, “In the past decade or so, His Majesty has grown secure in his power. His temper has only recently started to level out.”
“Mm…” Lin Xu drew his gaze back and decided to let the matter rest for now. He reached out and tugged lightly on the tip of Yuanxiao’s black tail, still peeking out from Heinrich’s arms.
“Eeng eeng eeng!” Papa!
“Yuanxiao,” Lin Xu said gently, “you can turn your head now.”
Over the past few days, he and Heinrich had managed to teach Yuanxiao a few simple words—at least within the mental domain.
“Dada, scared!”
Yuanxiao clung tightly to the medal on Heinrich’s chest. One of them—a Starfire Medal—had a ruby embedded in the center, surrounded by a ring of tiny diamonds. The moment Yuanxiao laid eyes on it, their gaze lit up. Fear forgotten, they chomped down with a decisive “ah-woo.”
Thankfully, the Starfire Medal was made of high-strength alloy—anything less would’ve stood no chance against Yuanxiao’s bite, sharp enough to tear through metal. By the time Li Xu finally managed to peel them off Heinrich, a neat circle of teeth marks had already been engraved deep into the medal’s silver surface.
Perched on Li Xu’s arm, Yuanxiao was still reaching their little white claws toward the medal, only to have their paw caught between Heinrich’s three fingers.
“Not every shiny stone is edible. Got it?”
“Dada~” Yuanxiao wiggled their claws in Heinrich’s grip. Heinrich’s face remained expressionless. “Did you hear me?”
Yuanxiao stared up at him. The wiggle slowed, then stopped altogether. Their blue eyes welled up with tears, and just as the first drops started to spill, they turned their head with a soft whimper and dove into Li Xu’s arms, burying their face and refusing to look at Heinrich again.
Li Xu held them close, reaching into his pocket to pull out a piece of sea crystal and handed it to Heinrich. The moment their eyes met, Heinrich understood.
He dangled the sea crystal next to Yuanxiao’s head, letting its energy-sweet aroma drift through the air. Yuanxiao twitched, sniffed once, twice.
Three seconds later, they couldn’t resist. Their head tilted slightly, and in one swift move they snatched the crystal out of Heinrich’s hand with their mouth, then buried their face back into Li Xu’s chest and began crunching away happily. Heinrich gently patted their head.
Just then, the corridor’s AI voice echoed overhead. “Thirty minutes until the scheduled departure. All departments, prepare to board. Repeating—thirty…”
Heinrich slowly withdrew his hand. “It’s time for me to go.”
“Go ahead.”
He didn’t move immediately. Instead, he lowered his gaze and paused. Then he took Li Xu’s free hand and brought it to his cheek. Li Xu’s thumb twitched, brushing against Heinrich’s temple.
“I’m leaving now.” This time, Heinrich truly turned and walked away.
From the interior hallway to the starship docking platform was still several hundred meters. Outside, the rain poured in sheets. Ceremonial guards stood on either side, forming a path. A group of the Abyss Fleet officers, all clad in black military uniforms, charged into the storm, heading toward the eight ships lined up ahead. The wind drove the rain sideways, streaking across the glass and blurring the view.
Alfred returned unexpectedly. Li Xu heard his approaching footsteps and tilted his head slightly but kept his eyes trained on the ships in the storm.
“Dr. Lin, would you like someone to take you home?”
Li Xu finally turned to glance at him. “Your Majesty?” We’re not that close.
“The rain’s coming down too hard,” Alfred said, sounding thoughtfully concerned.
“No need to trouble yourself, Your Majesty,” Li Xu replied smoothly. “I’m headed to Endymion. We’re not going the same way.”
As he spoke, he waved toward Arnold in the crowd. “Colonel Arnold will take me back. No need to worry about the weather.”
Alfred didn’t press. “Very well. Good luck, then. Try not to get caught in the rain again.”
After Arnold and one of his colleagues dropped Lin Xu and Yuanxiao off at the Cacamorra Plains, they left behind a flyer for Lin Xu and mentioned they’d be staying at the edge of Endymion’s central district for the time being. If Mr. Lin needed anything, he could call on them anytime.
Once they left, Lin Xu carried Yuanxiao inside. The rabbit-cats and the blue squirrels were still tumbling across the living room carpet. As soon as Snowy saw Lin Xu, they darted over to rub against his pant leg. Blackie followed a little slower, glanced around to confirm there wasn’t a second person nearby, then reluctantly settled for sharing Lin Xu’s pant leg with Snowy.
Beep— The cooking timer in the kitchen went off, signaling the sweet porridge Heinrich had scheduled before leaving was ready.
Lin Xu set Yuanxiao down, flicked a flame from his fingertips into the fireplace, and the soot-streaked logs began to burn again. He glanced at the fire, then stepped into the kitchen to ladle out a bowl of porridge before starting on the rest of dinner.
After playing all afternoon with the rabbit-cats and the squirrels, Yuanxiao wasn’t quite ready for bed yet. They flapped their wings and flew upstairs, then crashed headfirst into the crib Heinrich had installed for them and immediately passed out.
With no work or investigation tonight, Lin Xu went to bed alone at a reasonable hour. He was woken in the middle of the night by something heavy stepping on him. At first, he thought it was one of the rabbit-cats, but when he reached out, his hand brushed smooth, fine scales. Yuanxiao groggily climbed over him, mumbling in his mental field, “papa… dada…”
After struggling up and over what must have felt like a mountain range, they flopped onto the empty other side of the bed and promptly fell asleep again.
The next morning, Lin Xu had to go to work at the museum. Not feeling safe about leaving Yuanxiao home alone, he dug an old backpack out of storage and coaxed them inside so they could go out together.
Lin Xu had his own private office, and Yuanxiao spent the entire day there without issue. They were careful and well-behaved, and their strong wings didn’t knock anything over.
After work, Lin Xu took the space elevator to Capital Star. The scholars researching the Huaxia language monument were all teaching at Capital Star University, and they had invited him to collaborate and finalize the paper.
Lin Xu was already familiar with Capital Star University. Carrying Yuanxiao on his back, he made his way to the Ancient Earth Studies discussion room. Back when he was a student, he had always found a way to turn group projects into solo efforts and hadn’t visited the discussion room often. When problems came up, he usually worked them out with Marianna in her office.
The scholars greeted Lin Xu with smiles. He was known for having a chilly disposition, so after a few polite exchanges, they jumped straight into business.
After reading over the paper, Lin Xu clarified a few ambiguous sections in greater detail and helped clean up some minor flaws. Other than that, there were no major issues with the study on the Huaxia inscriptions.
While he was revising, one of the scholars asked, “Dr. Lin, would you be interested in returning to teach at Capital Star University? The pay is better than the museum’s, and the academic resources are top tier.”
Lin Xu paused briefly, then lowered his head and typed again. “Never considered it.”
“Ever since Professor Perser left, no one qualified has taken over her specialization. We’ve been rotating instructors just to keep the course going. If no one steps up soon, the class will be canceled altogether. With your qualifications, Dr. Lin, you more than meet the requirements for a professorship. Why not carry on her legacy?”
“I don’t enjoy teaching students.” The room went silent after that.
He didn’t share Marianna’s passion for education. When he was in a position above others, he only felt a need for control—an exhausting, joyless experience that made everything seem meaningless. To Lin Xu, it was best not to place himself in that kind of role again.
After wrapping up the discussion and leaving Capital Star University, he still had one more stop to make: the Perser estate.
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